Monday, June 7, 2010

'Raajneeti' rocks!!!!! I loved it....

Anybody who is even remotely interested in contemporary politics - the asli, unsanitised version of this dirty business - should make 'Raajneeti' a compulsory watch. I was warned by several film buffs to stay away. One even joked, "Go and spend a couple of hours in your local municipal corporator's office - even that would be more interesting." But as you guys well know, I have my own perverse ratings system, and I never go by what others say or think.Wonder of wonders, the theatre was packed on a sunday evening - nobody staged a walk out, and there was pin drop silence through the nearly three hour long 'Mahabharata' also known as ''Raajneeti." I was riveted from the dramatic opening sequence itself which set the tone for the rest of the movie. There wasn't a detail out of place, and I said to myself if Jha can get the minutae right, chances are the rest of the movie will match up to the early promise of those wonderully choreographed scenes which established the main characters so strongly and unambiguously. For those of you looking for a love story - sorry - but this ain't the film. And that's where the audience confusion stems from. The publicity has been grossly misleading, and some people flocked to watch a sizzling romance between Katrina and Ranbir. The posters and promos led one to believe Katrina was the central figure, when in fact, she is barely there. According to me, it's the men who eat up the screen with their magnetic performances, starting with Nana Patekar ( an unlikely but apt Krishna), Manoj Bajpai ( totally outstanding - after 'Zubeida', this ranks as his best role to date), Arjun Rampal ( getting better and better with each challenging character he plays ) and Ranbir Kapoor ( the sinister strategist who steals the show from the veterans with absolute ease). It is really Jha's genius that deconstructs the epic to suit a modern day ethos, with controlled sophistication and supreme confidence - it shows in even the most minor but telling scenes. The dialogues spoken in a shudh bhasha are difficult to follow at times, but then the masterly sweep of Jha's vision is so overpowering, that missing a line here and there doesn't really matter. Katrina tries. And that's the best one can say about her. Fortunately Jha has compressed her presence into five or ten short scenes. The rest of the footage is gobbled up by the guys , all of whom are pitted against one another in well- scripted, tight encounters that get the best out of each one of them. Manoj remains my top choice - what a powerhouse of a performance. At once tragic, flawed and menacing . As for Nana and Ajay - God knows what those two are sulking about, because in terms of screen time, they hog it all. And are expectedly brilliant.'Rajneeti' - down and dirty. Just like real life.P.S. I want to congratulate the stylists and dress designers Whosoever came up with the look for Manoj, deserves a very special mention.***************This appeared yesterday in the Deccan Chronicle and raised a lot of hackles. Sri Sri's zillion followers are really cross with me. But I know the Giggling Guru will be quick to 'forgive' me!!!****************Forget Didi’s hysteria and histrionics. Mamata Bannerji is the ultimate drama queen of India. If she does make it as Chief Minister of West Bengal, all one can say is W.B. asked for it! Her ardent supporters may lynch me for saying this, but it is extremely difficult for those not under her spell to either understand or appreciate the bizarre Mamata Magic. To the rest of us, the Trinamool Congress chief and India’s railway minister ( honey, it’s time to put in those papers!) appears entirely over the top and out of control ( almost embarrassingly so), as she screeches her way through anything and everything – from train disasters to political catastrophes of various hues. Just about the time when Mamata was emerging as a serious challenge to the well entrenched, and totally archaic Commies of Kolkatta ( sipping bodka-tonics or bhiskey in the Bengal Club), nobody but the lowly ‘pada’ boys from her locality gave her the time of day. Mamata was seen as a bit of a joke by the Big Boys swishing their carefully pleated dhutis through decaying colonial bungalows with peeling yellow facades, as they’d laugh derisively whenever her name cropped up before dismissing her off as a crazy female whose ‘fearlessness’ was closer to personal eccentricity than real bravery. And each time Mamata herself took to the streets ( which was often ), her critics would wait for her to loosen her long hair and squat in the middle of the road by way of a protest. Initially, I didn’t understand the significance of the flowing wild hair, till a bhadralok explained to me that it was a woman’s ultimate weapon. If she wanted to display defiance and contempt towards those she was fighting against, there was no bigger insult than to greet her adversaries with undone hair.Frankly, I thought Mamata looked rather fetching , almost wanton, when her hair was unkempt and blowing around her face, but clearly I had missed the point entirely. Today, Mamata Rani rules.Durga! Durga!Hair was on my mind big time last week. For one, my own was beyond unruly and in serious need of an expert’s scissors. For another, there was another person along with ‘Didi’ who was hitting the headlines and courting controversy – Sri Sri Ravi Shanker ( “Guruji” to his faithful flock ). His long tresses, kohled eyes and what looked suspiciously like a loosely draped, red bordered saree demurely covering his head, made him resemble a bearded woman. He was all over television screens as he bleated about an ‘attack’ that he claimed could have cost him his life. This went on for a few hours till our mundu-clad Chids smoothly and firmly put the Godman in his place by pointing out the difference between an ‘attack’ and an ‘incident’. Frankly, I didn’t quite get the distinction. Either a gun shot was fired or it wasn’t. Which was it? At the time of writing, we don’t know for sure, but Sri Sri is still going on and on about the ‘attack’ and demanding an enquiry. He has also boldly taken on the Home Minister (“white lie”, if you please) and is on a collision course with Chidambaram, who has dismissively ( and sensibly) moved on to more important matters. Sri Sri is the absolute darling of Mumbai socialites, and it is no wonder they were right there on news hungry tv channels, talking the usual gibberish about their beloved Guruji. By then Guruji had come up with his ‘I forgive my attacker’ line, and had offered to invite the fellow to sing and dance at his satsangs. Somehow , this one time people saw through the hoax early in the game. Though the cops in Bangalore had to pretend to take the charges seriously and rule out an actual attempt on the guy’s life, even they looked and sounded bored as they searched desperately for the elusive ‘attacker’, motives and bullets. So many silly versions emerged after the first round of shocked disbelief that as of now it looks as if it was a botched up publicity stunt rather than a murder attempt. That, or a skirmish between disciples which took an ugly turn. According to eye witnesses, dear old Sri Sri was nowhere on the scene at the time, and had left the ashram a few minutes before the supposed attack. The man whose thigh was grazed by a bullet, was more startled than injured, and one version is that the bullet may have been randomely fired into the air from a neighbouring farm!Who knows and who cares? What is seriously annoying about this episode is how carelessly and speedily media gets fooled into running a potentially sensational story without bothering to undertake a basic fact checking mission. Sri Sri was converted into an instant martyr as a couple of dumb anchors went on and on about a ‘Man of God’ and a ‘Man of peace’ surviving an attempt on his life. His later statements were also carried without anybody bothering to find out what exactly had happened. Nearly a week later, the story is dying a slow death. And as it often happens, there are sms jokes and cartoons doing the rounds talking about the Art of Living being the Art of Lying.The more serious charges revolve around land grabbing and other activities which are decidedly ungodly. Years ago, when Sri Sri was not as rich and famous, I remember a disheartened husband of a glamourous Mumbai socialite confessing that he had lost his wife to a strange man who giggled all the time and wore saree-like robes. He said sadly, ‘ I don’t know why it is called the Art of Living when a more appropriate name is the Art of Leaving. Most of his female disciples are young, beautiful and wealthy ladies who give Sri Sri lots and lots of their husbands’ money, before dumping their spouses.” I have met a few of them myself and wondered how they did it – persuaded their richie rich hubbies to finance Sri Sri’s lifestyle,before waltzing out of the marriage and into his pampered inner circle of bored millionaires.The day of his so-called ‘attack’ I was coming back from our home in Alibag across the Gateway of India. I saw the lower deck of a large ferry boat swiftly filling up with well heeled young people clad in kurta pajamas. Soon they’d scrambled to the upper deck and were taking in sharp ,short breaths as demonstrated by an instructor. It was murderously hot, but this bunch looked pretty cool ( metaphorically and literally). They were on a sunset cruise around the busy harbour…. or maybe they were heading out to an exclusive ‘satsang’ hosted by affluent disciples at a plush beach front getaway in Mandwa. Wherever it is they were headed, I wished them luck. They were going to need it – before their faith - or their money, ran out.

130 comments:

Hi Shobha! Its been an honour for me to get connected with you-someone I admired since my speed post days. I'm new for blogs, or for that matter to this medium. I place my comments on Bengal's Mamata. You see we had no choice. For me, both, the victors and the vanquished(almost), stand on the same footing.The former axed the dignity and sactity of life to gain power whereas, the later did just the same to come to and retain the power. Both ignored their top priority - the people. These results may be called- a change, by some, but I'm afraid it also reflects the beginning of anarchy here in Bengal. There will not be any development here for next 5 - 6years. If at all Mamata tries, I'm sure, she'll be opposed. It'll be more of a circus now. Already the blame game is widely rampant. Our rare and precious lives are placed at the hands of such incompetent leaders, who are not only insensitive but also ruthless in using it cheaply at their whims and fancies to settle odd scores. Is this governance? What a mockery of democracy- I would say! Do I sound patriotic? So may be, its high time we put our foot down and stop any wrong move saying we refuse to let you touch our future - our youth. We can if we want. Do you agree with my thinking? Plz feel free and enlighten me. Afterall we do look forward to better tomorrows!Regards.

I am glad that you exposed Sri Sri for what he is. A godman fearing for his life. Haha.Mamata is an insult to the level headed and she is a curse for bengal and India.I am glad that you gave an honest review of Rajneeti.

Sri Sri is a good man...people have made him a God man. Forget about media, what you have done is no less job. You have your thinking that comes out of your wasteful experiences. Those women who leave their husbands is perceived by their husbands that they are left. What about those women who are always moving out on their trips like you in name of career or whatever??? Its a matter of realization. Some have already realized what one should spend for and and what one should leave for. I pity females like you who with little intelligence feels they are so good at judging things. You failed to see the other side of life. I really pity all of those who consider these spiritual masters as Godman. They are masters, like teachers. They have art of teaching and we must respect them for their teachings . And if people want to respect their teachers more than anything then fine, its their choice, how come a teacher becomes bad in this? I really pity the incomplete minds like you.Feel the pain on both sides, feel how transformation takes place, feel what is offered by these gurus and why they are so soothing to the mind and heart and why all other things just look so pale when you have experienced that state of mind which is so focussed. A person who is good at speech and charming should use their charm and speech for good cause and thats what these gurus are doing. At least we have controlled some of those evil minds which could have caused terrorism in households. A good job is to divert people towards something which is least harmful in this world of dangerous weapons and vibes.

Use your strength to awake people to make better choices rather than introducing doubts and more mess and hatred for some.Take care. You still don't seem to get, how you are being taken care of, and who is doing. There's just one power and that power has given charm to people like Sri Sri also. Respect the good and shun the bad. Don't focus on bad. Follwo the laws of attraction!

Cann't quite agree with Rajneeti Admiration ..So loosely-knitted movie with lots of loop holes...unreal, unjustified,and complete disaster.. Even the dialogue could have been far batter and heavier then they were..it disappoints badly..

what is with all these disciples of god men? don't they have even an iota of tolerance? they are all perfectly educated people.But when it comes to even valid criticism of their guru they can be so rude. if they dont like, can't they simply ignore?

I was under impression that you are beautiful & wise woman; but you revealed you are media hungry, ugly, stupid and very shallow minded. To understand you & others just go thr' our shastras, upanishadas or yogasutras etc. Here is your older post in which you hv written what you felt after the satsang.

http://shobhaade.blogspot.com/2009/01/bhajan-aur-bhojan.html

So to just show off your so called writing skills do not throw your dirty minded words on anybody.

As I wrote about you above, I better know & you try to understand you are not like that. You are also untainted but to just make you think I wrote it. So just relax, mediate, be calm. For just sake of fame do not shout. you know what is good & bad. You, your mind is recording, storing it & you will suffer thr' it. for your betterment read Patanjali Yogsutra. Or join AOL course...Jai Gurudev....

Only the mentally ill needs a guruji or guruma. Surrendering ourselves to these fake gurus who exploit vulnerable people is a foolish thing. These followers behave just like bajrangis and jehadis in their zero tolerance attitudes. Why are they so much afraid of rational criticism?

Rajneeti absolutely rocks... welcome change from the boring love stories!!!! I loved it... as you said Katrina has less screen space, but I feel it is a good marketing strategy it has pulled people to see Katrina and as a side effect they have loved the movie... again Rajneeti.... here too...- Rajesh

Well, I truly don't have time nor so much energy to put in such negative talks that you have put on those links. It's sad that people like you can't do anything and so the best you do is argue. Who said he never told who his guru was. Everyone who questioned got an answer from him. Did you ever asked him? Also we all know these breathing techniques are in our ancient literatures and he has revived it and represented to the common man, so isn't that great. Were you or any of your ancestors able to bring that knowledge to you ever? So what if he is getting rich? He is not stealing nor corrupted. He is getting all in return of good karma. It's the law of attraction. You have got only what you have asked for. Your negative arguments will only make you show all negative stuff all the time, no wonder why you and Ms De are so jealoused and utter such words. As I told earlier, its a world of dangerous weapons , peopel and vibes. You can and will never find a perfect human, because you too are not the one, but atleast if you can find a less bad person then you must appreciate him/her rather than pulling their good work and reputation down. Every work has its unique outcome. What you see is not your work so you should not comment on its outcome too. You be satisfied with what your life is giving and if others success is worrying you too much then do some good work to upgrade yourself rather than indulging in such arguments which take you no where.I too am justifying but atleast this justification of mine is pouring positives in me even more. But you will only get negatives coz you are talking and focusing negative things so you not gonna get positive ever out of it. Change your path , and you will know what you have been doing is such a waste.Good luck my dear!

You have no idea about what you are talking. Sri Sri, do you have any idea of the the enormity of work he has done? Have you done even 1% of that? Its very easy to warm the seat and write nonsensical stuff about others. Have you experienced the course first of all? When you go to a doctor, are you concerned about the medicine he gives or about his other stuff?

If the police are not good enough to solve the case, you blame the person who has raised the complaint itself! Thats ridiculous! And Chidambaram? He makes some irresponsible comments and keeps quiet. And you term that as sensible??

AOL is present in nearly 160 countries now and you think they would do such cheap stuff for publicity? Ha Ha Ha...AOL is doing so much good stuff. Pls put your attention there.I seriously think you need some help and would request you to do the AOL part 1 course asap :-)

Indian Crab Mentality displayed by Shoba. Someone doing a lot of good work is getting highlighted for what 'could' have been a catastrophic attack and Shoba decides to strike while the Iron is hot! Attention seeker. I will invite Shoba to experience the Art of Living Program and the Sudarshan Kriya. Also, all those who have posted comments here. You will be able to comment better once you have experienced it!!!

Dear Shobha Ji,I'm not hurt at all by your views regarding Sri Sri........I know you are not to be taken so seriously...........but one thing did hurt me that you are still at very shallow end.....Take Care....!!

True intelligent people will experience first and then give their opinions, if there are any. But you have an opinion which is most often negative of everyone and everything, without knowing a dime. Your articles display an intelligence sans any bit of heart and soul. And this kind of crooked intelligence has a huge negative influence on society and you are displaying just that Mrs. De.

I would like to ask you a genuine question. “Are you honestly and truly happy? And have you found your peace???” I would like to add that happy and peaceful people certainly don’t sound as bitter, cynical, frustrated and full of hatred as you do. Mrs. De… YOU NEED HELP… GET YOURSELF A LIFE… A REEAAAL LIFE… BEFORE ITS TOO LATE. GOOD LUCK!!!

Dear Mrs. De, I hoped that you would not blog about the article about Sri Sri since the torture we endured on Deccan Chronicle's page was enough! But you are far far away from being remotely apologetic about the same. Well, what can one say? If you are proudly strutting your shallow and senseless crap which you call 'writing', I can only feel sympathy for your level of intelligence. I'm sure you have a loyal bunch of followers who have an equally pathetic taste in reading. So, I hope you have managed to give them a sensational "story"(isn't that your favourite word?) about Sri Sri.But the facts even you and I know-which are not even close to what you have written. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's work reaches the interior-most parts of the country where lives of hundreds of thousands have been transformed. And you can go there and witness it. But the question which comes up is "Will you do it?". Of course not! Who should take the pains of going to a village? There wouldn't be A/c.s nor spas nor cocktail parties! And Sri Sri and his volunteers have done that. Courses happen in Prisons, villages, cities, for politicians, common people- it's for everyone! And the proof is available everywhere. Your only intention behind writing such a hideous piece was to malign his image. I would recommend you stick writing to the soft porn that you usually do. You aren't fit for anything else. To give you an analogy, a gutter is not troublesome so long as it flows its way. But when it starts flowing on the streets where decent people walk on, it starts stinking of shit. Please don't overstep your territory too; else it stinks of shit.

yes, prakash jha ka film, is made out to be thandaa by critics, i like some of the reports, very well drafted, especially Khalid’s at http://www.khalidmohamed.com/

aakhirkhar, critics are people, with taste buds, likes and dislikes… I judge a critic by the way he puts forth his point of view… I don’t judge him/her by the point of view.

Ranbir is the “thing” of the future. Now that shahrukh is counting his days, and aamir is in his trance and salman most probably is Being Salman and skirting controversies of which skirt he should be chasing. The kapoor lad has the akkha maidaan khulla to play around and have a ball. I remember the days when his dadaji made the kapoor surname so synonymous with bollywood.

Should admit, ever since this Ramphal has got the national award, I am too biased to appreciate him.

AFTER being sometimes human, Salman’s man-ki-queen , the next best role for Kat is that of a Mannequin.

Mamata has a lot of shamta. Her tolerance level is amazing, I am amazed how she tolerates all criticism, and still does her own silly thing. Railways is no more safe, airways is not safe, if the road transport minister also proves his impotency, then wallah, they all will be leveled. And we can have “Killed in transit” as a caption for india. Mamata and Mamata’s saree is always sorry. Screeching Mamata’s rail is a big fail… hope her bogies don’t die, bhadralok will hate to see her cry. Uff yumm maaaaaaa… Hey Bhagwaan…. I dislike human gods. I respect people as people. For people like me who believe that little god is there in other people and in nature, the concept of larger than life bhagwaans seems a complete eyewash to me. Having said that, there are some people whom I prefer over others, I feel Sri Sri is definitely smart and speaks sense and in the present context.. rather than preaching pichdaa hua thoughts and practices. Sri Sri is the modern Osho. God, but not so much like god. Suspended animation….

Especially given the brand new Nityananda scandal, I understand that many self proclaimed gods will be trying prove that they are not “din mein jogi, raat ko bhogi”…. “ Din mein kamandal, raat mein amangal” types.

I love the branding of “Art of living” – the discourse is cleverly disguised as a course.

having said that, i do know that Art Of Living does substantial work for the poor in villages and also in prisons and all that.

But it is also true, that human gods, enjoy pleasures by showering some social work. Its not only or about Art of Living, speaking about the larger cause of money in the name of devotion... i dont see a point in temples erecting a golden stumb when the same could have been used for several charitable causes.

The latest is that the bullet aimed at Sri Sri wasn’t actually aimed at him, but at a dog to shoo it away. Wonder if it is “okay” for Sri Sri if the dog is shot at, just to shoo away and clear sri sri’s way. How could someone very simply report that “the bullet was targeted at strays” .. so people with guns could shoot strays??? Animal rights??? Okay… forget that… what if the bullet hit some human???

Do we stop the investigation, just because our large-hearted Sri Sri has “pardoned” the sins?

Ms.De... I pity you for having so less info on a great man Sri Sri! What an irony!! A man who dares to walk into the red zone of Iraq (vulnerable security zone,if you dont know)and talk peace, A man who dares to transform Kashmiri terrorists & inspire naxlas to drop their bullets and take to ballots, a man who dares to go to Pakistan and make the pakistanis do yoga and meditation!!! list goes on! Should such a human being run for his life and run behind cheap publicity? Ha Ha! you might have many readers of your blog! Please update yourself before passing on comments on someone (who doesnt even bother about non sense dog barks). You might be misleading your readers!

By the way... I would seggest you to go deeper in spirituality (I hope you know the meaning) rather than worrying about what Sri Sri wears or which woman left her husband! Grow up!

Mrs. Shobha De, I really hope that the destructive piece of writing that you have written about Sri Sri Ravishankar turns out to be the WORST mistake of your life. And the law of karma is already in motion to soon turn around and hit you in the face like a Boomerang. You know, in the olden days there is a mention of scary witches like Hideemba and Shurpanakha et al. Little did we know that some exist even today...witches who cannot see any good with anyone or anything! At least behave with a little dignity. You are 62! I am not even half your age but can still claim to be much wiser than you are. This life of yours has been a waste of your own doing. I hope you have better luck next time.How unfortunate can you be? You have spent more than 40 minutes with a learned Master and all you could ask him wickedly was about his appearance, clothes and money? I feel sad. Very sad. It's like, God was ready to guide you to a royal throne but you want to sit on the street and perform acrobatics for pennies? Not a wise choice I would say. Your writing is nothing less that cheap acrobatics! But anyway, get well soon! You need serious help for your warped brain.Well, one of my friends thought of great name for you: Sho-blah De. I think it suits you well :) Take care!

Shobha, your expertise is dirty talk, sex and maybe some reviews on movies... I have always known you for that... I wonder what is pulling you in the direction of a person like Sri Sri- he is a Nobel Peace prize nominee and into stuff which is beyond your "insatiable" minds comprehension :)... he is not in your league and we all know that you're not qualified to comment about him, so why not just tell us more about your recent boyfriends, husband etc, that is more acceptable of your likes and that is why we read your blogs... cheers!

Dear Mrs. Shobhaa De,When this article first came it was quite sad to see a person as talented as you writing baseless accusations. Now that you have posted it here I realize my mistake in getting sad. You are already in deep trouble and I for one forgive you. I would personally like to invite you to a Art of Living Part 1, rest assured it will help you a lot.You will even get a discount because of your age. Do it ASAP. Lots of loveJai Gurudeva

dearest shobha, speaking about HIS HOLINESS SRI SRI RAVISHANKARJI in ur article according to me sheerly shows your ignorance and selfishness. this man over 27 yrs has reached out to 150 countries transforming millions of lives even in war torn areas like iraq.He has bridged gaps between countries and politicians. he has worked in rural india adopting 10,000 villages reducing suicide rates in vidharbha to zero. he is invited to WORLD HEALTH ORG, WHITE HOUSE and soo many prestiged institutions 2 represent india. if u cannot respect such a man(which is bad anyway)atleast dont TRY 2 make news. may GOD bless you with wisdom... get well soon shobhaji :)

Hello Shobha, your older post on the satsang of The Art of Living Foundation - founded by SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR is just AUSIM

An excerpt - "The satsang ends with basic deep breathing exercises...... you shut your eyes and allow your mind to experience silence in the real sense of the word. A stillness settles into that over worked brain... and you find yourself floating.... your body - weightless, and your entire being suddenly at peace... one with the cosmos. Such a pity the spell has to be broken.... but at least you have been a small part of it... and for that alone you are grateful."

Shobha??? this is your post?? Unbelievable!! you're an old treacherous sl_ _ afterall, eh?? what a freakin turncoat!!

An excerpt - "The satsang ends with basic deep breathing exercises...... you shut your eyes and allow your mind to experience silence in the real sense of the word. A stillness settles into that over worked brain... and you find yourself floating.... your body - weightless, and your entire being suddenly at peace... one with the cosmos. Such a pity the spell has to be broken.... but at least you have been a small part of it... and for that alone you are grateful."

"What is seriously annoying about this episode is how carelessly and speedily media gets fooled into running a potentially sensational story without bothering to undertake a basic fact checking mission."

rest what I felt SHOULD be mentioned in the comments, is already expounded upon by so many people above, and very genuinely, i feel what you have written is a cheap publicity stunt (made me reconsider whether to comment and contribute in.. LoL)

i understand this blog is not a piece of journalism, but, presumably, what u have pasted hereappeared in the deccan ryt..

Dear Mrs.Sobha De...this is regarding to your grave comments made on His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar...i feel pity as this act was not expected atleast by you...you have commented on a person who has transformed millions of lives not only in India but in entire globe and made our country proud...how could a man who was nominated for noble peace prize...and who is considered as a peace brand...could be fake or whatever you wrote...do u really think a figure like sri sri (who is already famous in entire world) would need any cheap publicity..?? better think on this before commenting....i suggest you to do an art of living course and first transform yourself....Jai Guru Dev...

Congratulations ..... you've done now what your type of ppl really do .... spread the shit around ....I've been really watching all this while when you're gonna fart .... lo .. here u r .... Anyways ... I firmly believe that you've been seeking too many of those Mega serials that are being aired on the Hindi channels ... mostly abt men / women divorcing their spouse and lynching money from them ... I'm not all surprised with all the nonsense you've written about someone like Sri Sri ... I believe it's time for you switch off ur tv set and get into meditation and introspection ... And you know what ... I've just the place for you to do that ... The Art of living (Surprise!!) ... for farts like you .... so that you cleanse ur breath and mind and stop spreading the stink ... :)

I think you should use some other way to bring attention to yourself than talk about someone like Sri Sri ... and yes he'll really forgive you ... Don't lose your sleep over that .... Even stray dogs are welcome in the Art of living ...Grow up ... !!!

Dear Shobha, thank you for writing this article and having the guts to caricature Sri Sri. A close friend of mine is deeply involved in the Art of Living. And it is sad to know, that this friend has turned into an intolerant person. I wonder sometimes, why are these courses so expensive? What troubles me is that the urban Indian crowd, that Sri Sri attracts, does not realize he has not invented Pranayam. Anyway, even if the wealthy Indians want to spend some bucks on doing these courses I am fine, but I have frequently noticed that these AOL-people do not restrict their activities to doing Sudarshan Kriya, but bring a baggage of religious biases with them. His followers were involved in the election campaign for BJP, which surely is a conservative party and does not fit into Sri Sri's socalled insistance of peace. How can he bring about a social change while propagating an exclusionary ideology? So thank you, once again for writing this piece, it was needed!

It is so unfortunate that Mrs De resorted to spiteful tendencies to leash out vindictive feelings that she may be harboring for AOLF.. Funniest part is that, in the effort of demanding ''proof'' of the attack, she goes on to cross all the limits.. creates a false hypothesis against Sri Sri without having any proof herself! Mrs De, sitting there and commenting on whats wrong and right doesnt change the world!!!! Do you realize that it is because of people like these, that the world needs Art of living terribly??! It is very, very easy to lecture and advice people while sitting comfortably in the confines ur luxuries.. and very, very difficult to actually go out and do phenomenal stuff to help the world. That change is being brought about by Art of Living foundation and other Spiritual Organizations'.Unfortunately for the public of India, we have media persons like you who turn these unparalleled spiritual masters into ''self proclaimed God-Men'' and mis guide the already baffled public.And fortunately for the rest of us, we have seen the kind of work Sri Sri is doing, have witnessed it and can't but laugh on the immature accusations made on him!! My question is, If you were to judge somebody.. on anything, in the first place, who gave you the qualifications to do that? Has media today just remained a garbage bin where you vomit out ur personal opinions to vilify an Organisation or a Humanitarian, just because you don't know your facts?Or just because rebuking Indian spiritual leaders is the ''in'' thing now? Mrs De, why not use ur cutting pen to fight negative forces like the Politicians, terrorists, and thousands of other maligning agents than do such unhealthy ''spiritual bashing''? Why not get out of ur comfort zone and help people who are battered and bruised from Wars, natural calamities, poverty, hunger n so much more? Have you done that ever?? Sri Sri is doing that!Do not worry, you won't even have to go too far,in Mumbai itself,just go to Dharavi.. and see the transformation that has happened thanks to Sri Sri and Art of Living.. But I have inkling that you won't go there, and let me tell you why... It takes courage to accept the truth, especially, when you don't want to believe the truth which is staring at your face so obviously.

Shobha De should consider writing the truth about her own daughters` night-life. They are up for sale every weekend in Mumbai`s poshest discs the difference is that they do it in a posh `dignified` way. i ` ve seen this myself. Should we say daughters living up to their mothers profession or aspirations.

Shobhaa,Get a life! Leave the likes of Sri Sri Ravishankarji alone. He is beyond your understanding. You do not know anything about him or Art of Living.So just SHUT UP. It is a difficult task for you, but you can try starting now. Some day you might succeed??????

Ohh Mrs De... I am really feeling bad for u... I was thinking u as a mature lady, but u r sounding so stupid.. With out any investigation how can u pass some ugly comments like this on someone like the pride of our country sri sri...? Do u have any idea how much work he did for this world, it is fenomenal... but some silly people like u, who have no works rather then just passing some silly comments, complain about tjis and that.. Did u took any responsibility to solve these issues? I can understand u that u want to get some attractions from the unmature public.. and u can do that successfully too, its like the person who do some crime to get famouse... I am really feeling pity on u and hope u will soon grow up and do something for the society rather then passing such sily unmature comments like this... Grow up and don't waste ur life like this.. Join the AOL part-1 course and leave life rather then just existing...Get well soon...

@Ann you say that the AOL people bring with them a baggage of religious biases & that Sri Sri is propagating an exclusionary ideology.I've done the basic course of AOL. There were many Christians like you, sisters (who don't marry), & even fathers of Church. There was even a muslim. In fact the whole course was organised by a retreat house. The one thing everybody agreed was that every religion was treated equally.Have you ever left your religious prejudice & attended an AOL course 1 day ? No wonder you thank Shobhaa for the article.Don't see yourself in others & limit your comments on religious leaders of your community alone.

i love the candid approach of ths post thats much appreciated.the rushing intolerable commentators could themselves be realized later when the veil of ignorance is taken away. irrational people go behind of many cults who claims the embodiments of supernatural powers that turned into culprits later..... oversentiments wash away the sense and wisdom..

Firstly Miss or Mrs De (I really don't have the time to check on your relationship status. I have a life in which I do constructive things.) For the record I am a Manager of Sales and Marketing in a large firm and the age of 27 at the beginning of a promising career. Unlike you I am a dynamic individual and I am also deeply grounded in my roots by the grace my beloved guru, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The reason why millions have surrendered to him I am sure simply escapes you. And it should be incorrigible, because the spiritual path is not for a half has been and half wanna-be like you. Because here people are not treated in luxury spas and we surely do not waste ourselves to hangovers from late night parties. If you really look at the work AOL has done then you shall realize that it has been totally available for service no matter what the cause. We have contributed to causes like Project Green Earth to contributing to the education and holistic development of slum children. Preventing farmer and student suicides. Trust me the list is endless and goes beyond your comprehension. It has been the bane of a spiritual person to peacefully accept such pieces of shit like you. If a devotee or spiritual follower raises then people say "Where is your calmness now? You are supposed to be spiritual and blah blah" But a person like you has no responsibility to weigh her words before sending them to the masses. I have one but simple message for you, and I hope you overcome the mountainous task of understanding what a three year old can: We have done or wish you no ill but if you repeat glamour hungry stints like the article in The Deccan Chronicle then you'll loose what little public favour you are left with. Because crass and sleaze will take you only so far.May you be blessed with clarity and gratitude. And I totally resound what the Acoustic Dreamer said.

...feel still pity of reading the breaking 100 degree temp comments of some... we indians are blind, rather deliberately sticking - even hundreds of evidence to disprove our wrong believes.... a few years back our another acclaimed guru sathya sai bhava handed over a golden chain taken from the air to a boy- which been telecasted - repeated in slow motion to show that the chain was kept behind the memento that in magicians speed guruji captured it from the person who handed over the memento to give to the boy - and millions watched it .... and the flock still flow behind him... ( no hypocisy for gurus... all is divine and godly ) .... i write this for the poor followers of many such gurus whos backbone is the folks around who think with others brain..... i request many such folks remain to be justice to oneself by judging things with reason..

Do you see Mrs. De? This is what happens when you try to spit at the Sun! Spit simply falls back on your own face and the Sun(which incidentally also means 'Ravi' in Sanskrit ;))remains ever so Pure, Untouched by blemishes! :)

for many diseases; for many people, meditation is misunderstood for medication. They urgently better go for appropriate clinic than outburst themselves into intolerable blockheads.... one lata named me salman to put me in a block to show off her hatredness... what use in practising such long n short breaths... to reach in a height of temper!!! poor chap-y .. i feel more pity .... i thnk i recd some time before, another comment from same funny dude stating my religion identified..like a detective- SH - Salman from Salu .. so stamping as muslim and so n so... what a people... what a world !!! i wish good sense or sense of humour to such folks atleast to remain calm n tolerable....

Mam you should have done some ground work before writing anything about organisation like artofliving. Teachings of sri sri are very relevant and scientific. He is the representative of Indian culture and knowledge. You should hear his words and teachings then you are free to draw your conclusion. On the basis of anybody's husband comment don't draw your conclusion. Intellectual like you must know that spirituality,yoga,meditation is the need of the hour. And for a creating a peaceful society sri sri is doing a great work. On the other hand I also appeal to the followers of sri sri not to use wrong words against Shobha de. Some of above comments against her are not civilised. Develop tolerance power friends. Truth is truth it cannot be distorted. People related to artofliving knows what sri sri is. He does not need any certificate. But we should always remember, "Loving one who loves you is not a big deal loving one you hates you and critices you is really a big deal". I am a fan of sri sri's discourses but also a reader of Shobva de and will remain so.

Read her blog on June 4th. Old pussy shobha De has now moved into full-time pimping for the italian chef Sarjano in Goa.After showing her red hot pussy to businessmen since age 14 she is opened new avenues of pimping for `firangs`. Old pussy Shobha now a full-time madam like the forass road red light district`s old hags.What else can she do at 62 and with a wrinkled diseased pussy. No anti-wrinkle cream will help.

I am sure shobha will love all these commnets cos` it matches the soft porn shit she writes !i feel like shoving my dick into shobha`s wrinkled pussy with her daughters watching by my side. My cream (read spunk) will be much better than anti wrinkle creams for Shobhas wrinkled pussy.

Dear Salu, agree with you on the Salman bit, I too think that making you Salman and giving it a religious twist wasnt tasteful .Btw, I am confident that I do have reasonably good sense (or sense of humor) and so am taking my chances of making a humble submission to you.

You come across as a reasonable man , so will assume you will read this note with an open mind.

Am not asking you consider Sri Sri a Guru or God, but it is very important for you to meet Sri Sri once, interact with him, and if none of it is possible, please become aware of his contribution to the world, even if you consider him to be a social worker and consider the amount of work he has done in 157 countries, touching 300 million people across the world, AND being a Nobel Peace Prize nominee… he deserves more respect than Shobha expressed in her write up… Also , please do consider that Shobha , as far as most of the literate group is concerned, is just a gossip ( occasional soft porn) writer, with little contribution to her family, leave aside the world.

I also noticed you listing some other Guru's example as the basis to assess all the Guru's... but then do you make the same generalization in every other case too? I mean Nazi's too were human beings- so does that make ALL human beings barbaric? There are cases of incest- does that make all relatives rapists?... It doesn’t happen like that. It is case based and we need to study the specifics before we brand a particular person/group.

The reactions you’re seeing here are not only because of respect for the humanitarian work Sri Sri has done, it is more because of the way this flimsy writer has described Sri Sri, who by the way, is way out of her league.

While I will not be able to convince you if you’ve made up your mind, but if you’re reasonable , as I perceive you to be, I am sure you will consider the facts above and appreciate the reason why people are reacting (and in some cases, over-reacting to this article).

PS: You seem to have a good grip on the theory of (long and short) breath , so got enticed to ask you if you've experienced Sudarshan Kriya yet ?

SHOW-BHAA DE:.......wot all you can do is just SHOW-off your poor intellect(actually none),a poor understanding ability, and most of all how unfortunate you are that your fate,your poor sources of information and most of all your fake wisdom made you write all these things about "HIS HOLINESS"...I pity you for writing all the things such as "ART OF LYING" and "ART OF LEAVING"....be kind enough to go and learn "THE ART OF WRITING" and"ART OF UNDERSTANDING"...and if you don't know from where, well here is your answer"THE ART OF LIVING"...I am sure you it will help you to be a better writer and most of all a better person in all parameters.And don't worry,this is a temporary phase in your life but the GURU'S DIVINE GRACE will help you as well, as we said earlier,"THE ART OF LIVING" has no boundaries or differences it is for all (who want to live a healthy,wealthy{not only monetary} and a wise life).So the choice is yours how you want to spend the rest of your life???If you want to experience magic here is a suggestion for you..."JAI-GURUDEV"...try this magical mantra and I am sure you will realize every thing good , bad and a lot more.Get well soon and for that,Contact your nearest AOL teacher and register yourselves for a basic course and experience the magic, this will definitely help you realize that, the luck you wished while coming from Alibaug to people who were learning "some" breathing technique heading towards a "satsang"was indeed not required and actually that "some" thing is "EVERYTHING" and also that you don't loose anything,as you have written (I wished them luck. They were going to need it – before their faith - or their money, ran out) instead, you gain a lot more than what you ever thought off.JAI-Gurudev.

u r a great thinker & writer but not a good human because u have commented on such a super human sri sri. about whome u doesnt know anything. STOP BREAKING HEARTS BY WRITING SUCH DEROGATORY ARTICALS Use your telent for CONSTRUCTIVE work that can strengthen national integrity instead of defaming such great people

@Latha: This is so funny! Why can't my name be Durga, while I am using Ann as my pseudonym? So there goes your bias... You think I am a Christian and a nun on top of that. The fact is, one doesn't have to belong to a religious minority in India in order to understand what sectarianism is. And it is a known fact, that Sri Sri is involved in political lobbying. I say, let him be, even Baba Ramdev is openly doing politics, but what annoys me more is, he apparently preaches secularism and his followers follow sectarianism. Making a christian or muslim sing stotras while you secretly believe that Hinduism is the greatest 'religion' is not secularism! Why this insistence on outward shallow expression of religion? In what ways is it then different from missionary work? True Spirituality would lead to giving up of all these external symbols, and wanting to convince the other, you better follow my method, because it is old and great. Even a Christian name creates suspicion in your mind, how about you leaving the boundaries of monolithic religions, into which even Art of Living is trying to put the "Hindu" idea of life?

Hi Shobha,Some of the comments from these so-called"bhakts" of Ravi Shankar( I refuse to call him Sri Sri...) smack of intolerance.We live in a democracy, and Shobha, or anyone else, has a right to air her views!One advise, dear, DO NOT aloow any post to be viewed unless and untill you have checked it.the comment about your daughters is in very bad taste...Is thsi what "Art of Living" is all about????Rashmi

C'mon Aham, I am also not a part of the art of living or, am actually a corporate guy and far away from full time social work like these guys, but I do respect Sri Sri for the great work he has done... About those few people who are reacting to Shobha in the language she likes to use , actually makes me want to complement the art of living guys ... it just shows that they are so accommodating, they are making her feel just at home...btw... I also don't mind the discussions on intercourse which Shobha does quite beautifully.

About your comment, it appears to me as a reader, that you're taking shelter under the Sri Sri's cover... be a man...take a stand, use your wits and stop begging for mercy from the audience by using Sri Sri's name as a Guru...

@Ann Christian or whatever you are....read my post once again & you'll know that I've only mentioned that in the AOL course that I participated, there were people of all religions & all of them parted joyfully promising to meet again like a family after a group photograph.It only shows that there was absolutely no religious brain washing. It was organised in a retreat house by Christians because they felt that even they have a right to benefit from AOL if it is worth it. Attempts are going on for a follow up & the next course. I am not a champion of AOL like some of them here but I still feel that your comments on Sri Sri without any basis is uncalled for. Nobody was asked to recite any stotras as you have mentioned.It is no different from missionary work because I respect that as much as I do the AOL. I don't care which religion does it. If it does good for the people, that's what counts & not which religion does it.

Your article on sri sri was in a very poor taste. I worked in a top investment bank in US and have been volentering for AOL in some of the remotest part of the country. In one of these villages ,the practise of female infanticide is so common there are hardly any girl child left. One of the person there tells me he has a daughter who is 5 yr old now and there was immense pressure on him to kill her when she was born. He didnt succumb and did not let his family do it coz he had come in contact with Guruji...His courses and his teachings..he could not think of it anymore he said.I met the beautiful girl....She is alive due to Gurujis grace. How he has touched people in all walks of life.so Sri Sri is a man of GOD and a man of peace. If this can happen in a remote part of our country, imagine what all Guruji has done all over the world..We indians should be proud of him, and not pull down our own by such baseless writing.

Why dont you focus on politicians and film stars and movie reviews. Sri Sri is way out of your league mam!!It has only shown you in poor light.

1st principle of being a good journalist"undergoing a thorough research before publishing any article"....n u failed right there..people read ur articles,so just take some pain,research before u write...n restrict ur ugly writings n comments to celebrities n politicians...dun push them on people u have no experience of.or even better just opt for a retirement,its high time!!relax....

I have had the good fortune to have watched Apharan and Gangajal and rather liked both.

Mamata could've been dismissed as a drama-queen, somewhat in the same genre as Lalu Prasad Yadav, except for her nexus with the Maoists (They have publicly proclaimed support for her on more than one occasion.).

BTW, being a God-man or God-woman seems to be amongst the best business propositions in this country.

The biggest film of Prakash Jha’s career, Rajneeti tries to make a sweeping statement on Indian politics but suffers from many predispositions that end up making the film look largely outdated and partly stupid. Sample this: Every time someone gets shot and is fighting for life in the hospital, Nana Patekar just waltzes into the emergency room no questions asked or the scene where his simple talk is enough to revive a sedated character.

Moment i saw on TV, the first comment out of Sri Sri Ashram that day, i almost knew as to how many people are going to benefit from this Story.

The news channels went mad asking the same questions to one and all.. then just picking the appropriate words and making a new headline every ten minutes out of the same interview with Sri Sri.Ofcourse with billions of Sri Sri followers, one can imagine what the TRPs must have been for these people.

And now joining them is our dear Shobha De.

Why not, there is no harm in getting some attention.and hey, you were talking about Sri Sri and his people doing this for publicity, right?

i think with Billions (Zillion you said) of followers at his call from the tribes in Arunachal to the offices of Wall Sreet, Sri Sri needs NO PUBLICITY ..

I truly appreciate you as a lady who have impressed hundreds with you wonderful writings and your persona.I also appreciate your awareness about all the happenings...I feel, a true intellect like you should believe in experiencing rather than mere observation...By listing inappreciable views about "GURUJI",you have hurt the emotions of more than billions..but hardly hundreds have responded...now you decide its "Art of Living" or "Art of Abusing"..So,its a heartfelt request to the honoured lady to experience the truth...COME BE PART OF IT!!!!!1

It is a saying in rajasthan and gujarat that a person suffering from Jaundice sees everything as yellow. Similarly even our scriptures quote "Yat Bhavam, Tat Bhavati" which means As is your Intention, So does the world Manifest around you. It is your business what you write on your blog but until you keep it to yourself and respect others views. There are imaginary stories being spun and there are hordes of lime light thirsty people like you Shobha De that are using this to your advantage. Every word said is twisted and turned to suit one's filthy greed.

We from Art of Living are a very kind lot but it does not mean we are goodie goodie too. A butterfly and a honey bee both make use of nectar from flowers. A butterfly is seen only in places of comfort, is easily blown away and takes all giving less in return. A Bee toils hard all throughout the day. In return of the nectar it takes. It gives us wax that gives light and honey that gives sweetness. We are the bees Shobha De and we never hurt someone who is innocent. But we do sting when it comes to protecting our home. And let me state it clearly this time to you and to all the readers. The reason we are this vociferous this is that our guru has being maimed for a false cause by someone who has no reason to do so. And also is as useless as a rag in the society. This is the reason we are only talking about you and not reacting to our fellow readers as they themselves are not fully informed. But as a person who has societal recognition it is your responsibility to do some fact-finding before stating an opinion in public.

I will end my quote and I regret the abuses hurled at your family. But for the choicest selection of any insults you have received and will receive. You very well know that you deserve them.

My staunch catholic background teaches us not to personally attack or indulge in character assasination. Your frequent yellow journalism on various personalities has really hit a high.You have done that on Sri Sri who is like Jesus to me though i have never seen him or met him personally. You will very soon be the Mary Magdelene to Sri Sri.

Atleast at 62 get some maturity OR simply apply some anti-wrinkle cream on your wrinkled 62 year old pussy to tantalize those Mumbai`s rich and famous bizmen.

Hi ShobhaI admire your writing on SSRS and congratulate on your courage. As Truth has prevailed that a bulled fired to sacare away dogs was claimed by THE GURUDEVA as a terrorist attempt to murder him.

I also would like to congratulate on your interview of SSRS and his sister Bhanu previously. The Guru was in total discomfort and it showed in his body language. He even prompted Bhanu to tell about incident in USA to bolster his ego.

Well said Shobhaa De. If you did some research before writing this post, I have to say fantastic journalism. If not, wow, you have amazing intuition. You have no idea how correct you are re Sri Sri & AOL.Please read Skywalker and klim blogs.http://aolfree.wordpress.com/or Klim's blog athttp://artoflivingfree.blogspot.com/It is about time Indian Media & Government investigate Sri Sri fraudulent business.Please give the above links in your blog. Those who want to find the truth re SriSri/AOL can find it there.

Some things I would like to point out about the AOL:*Why are all their so-called "retreats" held in Zurich???If the idea is meditation, then it can be done anywhere..even in the middle of a desert!*Did you know,these "bhakts" actually buy new utensils to cook for Ravi Shankar when he visits?He will NOT eat food cooked in used utensils...What does this say about him??*If this course is so very beneficial, then why charge a bomb?Let it be free, and include the minimum wage labourers so they will at least get a good meal after the "satsang"...*I have noticed that only well to do ladies are part of this movement...Is this because as Shobha says, they can add to Ravi Shankar's coffers??Points to ponder...

Hi Shobhaa!!Please study about who His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is before you write such things about him....You have no clue how much he has worked for peace all over the world. Dont just misuse the position you possess.. You are pointing finger at a person who is working for the world unlike you who has no other job than passing such filthy comments.Take a breath. Join Art of Living.He has transformed lives of millions of people all over the world. So mind your words!Get well soon!!

hello miss de...u r jus so wannabe....n all ur so called followers who dare to jus comment on ur intellectually silly blog n feel they r the one whom society should look up to...then u all must just go n take a short nap....y dont you all do 1thing,,,get world govts, universities,colleges, ngos,nasa n all so many prestigious honours n then get graduated to comment on SRI SRI....I AM PROUD TO DO THE art of living...BTW MS DE i was so sure that u wud write abt followers but i guess u all miss de n miss des blind followers should go thru GITA. it is said that when enemy stands in front of u with an army to attack...dnt sit bak but get up fight n win....i BET U MISS OR MRS DE OUR JOB IS TO EDUCATE U N UR FOLLOWERS N IGNORE....WE R NOW NOT EVEN BOTHERED ABOUT WAT U WRITE...BUT I BET U ALL PPL its simply IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU ALL TO GAIN WORLWIDE HONOURS N COMMIT SELFLESSLY TO SOCIETY N WORK FOR IT...U ALL R JUS BOL BACHCHANS....I AM PROUD THAT I AM DOIN MY BIT FOR THE SOCIETY....JAI GURUDEV!!!GOD BLESS YOU ALL WITH BRAIN, DISCRETION OF GOOD BAD N JUSTICE N YEAH HOPE TO C ULL SOON ON PART 1!! :)

hello miss de...u r jus so wannabe....n all ur so called followers who dare to jus comment on ur intellectually silly blog n feel they r the one whom society should look up to...then u all must just go n take a short nap....y dont you all do 1thing,,,get world govts, universities,colleges, ngos,nasa n all so many prestigious honours n then get graduated to comment on SRI SRI....I AM PROUD TO DO THE art of living...BTW MS DE i was so sure that u wud write abt followers but i guess u all miss de n miss des blind followers should go thru GITA. it is said that when enemy stands in front of u with an army to attack...dnt sit bak but get up fight n win....i BET U MISS OR MRS DE OUR JOB IS TO EDUCATE U N UR FOLLOWERS N IGNORE....WE R NOW NOT EVEN BOTHERED ABOUT WAT U WRITE...BUT I BET U ALL PPL its simply IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU ALL TO GAIN WORLWIDE HONOURS N COMMIT SELFLESSLY TO SOCIETY N WORK FOR IT...U ALL R JUS BOL BACHCHANS....I AM PROUD THAT I AM DOIN MY BIT FOR THE SOCIETY....JAI GURUDEV!!!GOD BLESS YOU ALL WITH BRAIN, DISCRETION OF GOOD BAD N JUSTICE N YEAH HOPE TO C ULL SOON ON PART 1!! :)

dear chams of ravi shankar just go through these two blogs may be you all could regain your composure.may God grant you the wisdom to understand the truthhttp://artoflivingfree.blogspot.comhttp://aolfree.wordpress.com/

EXAOL teacher, if you really think that your blog has merit then howcome you're moderating the blog and not not allowing people to ask you what went wrong with your experience with Sudarshan Kriya? you seem to be interested only in one sided mudslinging.I have been transformed by the phenomenal practice of Sri Sri, and am keen to learn from you on the reasons of your getting so bitter.

dear amit i am not bitter but i want to caution you all. i was equally enthusiastic like you but my stay in the organization has exposed the hollowness of the organisation and its people. i am sure that in due course you will also understand the truth however if you wish to continue and wait for this things to become clear you are most welcome to do so. remember spirituality is not about making people week and dependent but independent and strong and responsible.i am sure that all the comments which have been written in proper language like what you have written in shobhas blog have all been published

Dear ExAolteacher... i respect your viewpoint, and am sure you that you must have experienced something distasteful that drove you to stand by your current belief.

My 2 cents, i have been with AOL for 10 years now, an active member, have assisted courses in the prisons in India, with the cops, in corporate houses- inlcuding my own company, which is a multinational . and am yet to meet one person (including the hard core terrorists) who learned Sudarshan Kriya , who have not felt the rest in their body mind and soul.

Like every organization, AOL too is made up of human beings, and like there are in every organization, here too , there are some people who are different and might not behave in the way which expresses the vision / values /best interest of the organization, we must not let these people define the entire organization.

Not only AOL but even quantum physicts have not come out and said that wherever we put our attention, that grows.

There will be good and bad things about every org, why not increase our attention on the good and allow that to grow?

I am not trying giving a discourse and neither am I trying to dilute your mission of sharing your experience , all i'm proposing is to focus on the light. Consider the goodness Sri Sri has shared wth the world, the amount good he's accomplished and and the number of lives he's changed, if a few volunteers out of the millions who work for AOL can make us forget all that good work, then we too, can be termed as shallow- isnt it? :)

dear amit i respect your opinion.i don't want to drag in into a discussion where both of us driven by their own experience.like you i have also have a very similar background of working with one of the largest corporate of the world. i only want make a few small submission.1- cross check the amount of seva that aol has mentioned in its website.2-when Gautam the buddha sent his monks for spreading the Dharma, all his monks where also as purified as the the Gautam him self. if you know the story of unglimaal you also must be knowing that he was also one the monks of Buddha.3- the recent lies of aol and its chief during the shooting incident is known to the world.amit you are serving a mnc and i am sure would be capable of understanding the truth as it stand. i do not want to colour your opinion. but always know in spirituality the both the means and the end should be equally pure

I agree, this debate is endless, but the reason I am still indulging in this discussion is because you come across as a passionate, intelligent person, who is curious and wants to make a difference ,and it appears to me , that you had a bad experience(s) because a few people.

The argument and logic you've used for this argument is intelligently put across, so , here are a few points that you'd want to consider.

1- cross check the amount of seva that aol has mentioned in its website. - No, it doesnt interest me. I am focused on the projects done by AOL, the villages owned, the prison courses, the corporate courses, the peace initiatives. I can poke holes in the best prepared financial statement because i have one of industry's best CFO and financial unit working for me, it still never interested me to dig into the financial details because the number of people they reach out to and help far exceeds any dollar value that you place on these lives.

2-when Gautam the buddha sent his monks for spreading the Dharma, all his monks where also as purified as the the Gautam him self. if you know the story of unglimaal you also must be knowing that he was also one the monks of Buddha. The times were different, the society was different.... You mentioned you're a part of a large corporate, so let me try putting it in a way with which you will connect better... I am a Vice President with a New York based company and have centers across 5 countries I lead hundreds of people and each persons' performance in a way rolls up and makes my performance. None of these hundreds' are my prototypes and yet I am supposed to deliver millions of dollars worth of revenue each month... we are successful, very successful, and the reason- because my team is different than me, they all bring their unique skills to our organization and add value , some of them (lots of them) make mistakes, some of these mistakes are not reflective of my viewpoint and am not even aware that they're about to do something which is against the company policy, but then it reflects on me- so, yes, while I am responsible for their behavior, they dont represent me while doing such a thing , and there are a few cases where these mistakes make me fire them... but it wouldnt be correct to hold me accountable for only that part where they made that mistake and promote the idea that i that I subscribe to their viewpoint, because the person who disciplined them is also me.

3- the recent lies of aol and its chief during the shooting incident is known to the world.amit you are serving a mnc and i am sure would be capable of understanding the truth as it stand. i do not want to colour your opinion. but always know in spirituality the both the means and the end should be equally pure ... I lead a multi million unit of one of the MNC's, I design the structure for MNC's and believe me, I followed this news on very closely on the internet as I didnt have any indian channel available for viewing at that time when this happened, i also spoke to some of the senior media people in India and I saw more holes in the media story and Chidambrams vague statement than in the ashram's version.

Again, life will go in the direction where we put our attention... you're a bright person, if you let some people change your enthusiasm, you will be surprised over the years the way corporate will treat you... you should make a resolve and get these shady people to change and not allow them to change you... am not sure of your location, but whereever you are, sit for a while and pick up some project which helps people, write a book on how to make peace a part of every human being and become an advocate of happiness... by saying that the organization has shallow people so it is bad, you're telling people how weak you are, which you are not, so gear up my friend and take charge- with aol or without- do something which promotes peace and happiness.

dear amit i quit.i had a very interesting discussion with u. faith is so blind that it blocks our ability to see reasons it happened with me 15 yrs ago it can happen to any body.yesterday when nithyanand was relesed on bail and his large number of supporters were there on to receive him. for them nithyanda represents truth.a large number of mafias win election in India., for their supporter the mafias represent truth.i wish you all the best in life.regards

My Dear Amit2sharma, you are amazing other disciples should learn from you. but it is so unfortunate that such clearer words can't do anything if some1 is blocked ......! we must intensify our efforts !

people have problem with why Guruji named Sri Sri :) .. :).. how can they go deep in our own roots. why people named by Mr. didn't find anything big to resist... it's our culture.. much older then naming Mr. ha ha ha :) go educate your self .. it is all about our culture & what we are... English Education System (awailable to us since last 100yrs.) is not going to teach you .. Art of Living is our own Education System .. Serving Humanity from ages. world remember & follow this kind of masters for ages.see they are doing!

in our culture every man is a GODMAN..! Parents, Gurus every1 we consider God .we worship our vehicle.:) What you are following.. Wake Up....be little sincere take responsibility of going little deeper to experience...you don't have any idea what you can achieve... it is our culture that gives freedom to Shobha De that she can Write such a Crep to such a big spiritual leaders & be safe. go and write about some other religion & or in other country , that's wr we are rich & That's the Art of Living ,,, Shobha's two little daughters hed bed experience bcs of her Mother .... Really sorry to them .. women is always respected, behalf of whole art of living family i would say :: " you are ours ! always " Knock Knock Shobha ' Time to Wake Up ' Pity on you & Shocked People are favoring you...Wow...:) :oLiving Small Life, one day they will regret if would have join this movement Years back... it is you who choose .. Who are the Art of Living Guys or "Bhakts" 300 MILLION people...those who took responsibility of their life & experienced.. they are all stupid & you 5-10 guys are wise :)idiots...

do not Miss guide society or Nature won't forgive you

this exaolteacher is a fake ! having lot of free time on NET

:) People will follow some1 ! Whome ? it is what they are ! Shobha, like this fake guy ! Payed News Corporate Channels or own Experience ! what is more Sincere..

some forces can easily destroy Hinduism & India having Such a idiotic Crowd .. bcs of these masters we exists ...bow down to them... Just open ur eyes... you are not respecting your own culture.

hello.good that u r open about the issues u believe in...i appreciate your courage......but,u need to go a little more deep into yourself and do lots of meditation first.u dont even know WHO U R,then how wil u know the others..first learn that ,then comment on others......every person changes.u r not the same as you were 20yrs back.so think a lot before judging anyone. U cannot shake the faith in the people merely by your words..all the best in your life.god bless you

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